Storage bin structure for an automatic vending machine

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to a storage bin structure for superposed articles in an automatic vending machine, more particularly to a storage bin structure in which it is easy to vary the length of the storage space for the articles and to move the articles.

2. Description of the Related Art

The improvement of this invention is directed to a conventional storage bin structure for superposed articles to be sold in an automatic vending machine, which is shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3. As illustrated, the conventional storage bin structure consists of a wall assembly 1 and a conveyer unit 2. The wall assembly 1 includes an upright support plate (D), two side wall units 11, 12, a front wall unit 13, a top wall unit 14, a bottom wall unit 15, and a rear wall unit 16. The support plate (D) is fixed in the machine and has two horizontal rows of holes (D1) so as to screw the side wall units 11, 12, the top wall unit 14 and the bottom wall unit 15 thereto. The front wall unit 13 is screwed to the side wall units 11, 12. The top wall unit 14 and the bottom wall unit 15 have lengthwise slide slots 141, 151 formed therethrough so as to connect slidably the rear wall unit 16 thereto. The rear wall unit 16 is locked on the top wall unit 14 and the bottom wall unit 15 by lock bolts. Another horizontal row of holes (D2) is formed through the support plate (D) so that the conveyer unit 2 is screwed thereto. The conveyer unit 2 includes a conveyer body 21 attached to the support plate (D), a motor 22 activating a gearing 23, a rotating shaft 24 driven by the gearing 23, two front wheels 24 sleeved rigidly on the two ends of the rotating shaft 24, two rear wheels 26 mounted rotatably on the conveyer body 21, and two endless belts 27 running around the front wheels 24 and the rear wheels 26 so as to transfer the rotation of the front wheels 24 to the rear wheels 26. The bottom wall unit 15 is positioned between the conveyer belts 27, thereby permitting the superposed articles (A1) to be supported on the belts 27. The side wall units 11, 12 define a storage space therebetween in which the articles (A1) are placed. If necessary, the rear wall unit 16 can be moved forward or backward to a suitable position in which the distance between the front wall unit 13 and the rear wall unit 16 is slightly greater than the length of the articles (A1). In this way, the superposed articles (A1) can be arranged in a tier. The front wheels 24 are at a level slightly higher than that of the rear wheels 26, so as to prevent the lowermost article (A1) from unwanted forward movement. Entry of coin or coins activates the motor, thus driving the belts 27 to move the lowermost article (A1) forward away from the storage space. The conventional storage bin structure suffers from the following disadvantages:

(1) Because the rear wall unit 16 is positioned behind the articles (A1), it is difficult to adjust the position of the rear wall unit 16.

(2) When the articles (A1) are too heavy, the power of the motor cannot activate the belts 27, due to the fact that the front wheels 24 are at a level higher than that of the rear wheels 26.

An object of this invention is to provide a storage bin structure for an automatic vending machine in which it is easy to vary the length of the storage space for articles to be sold.

Another object of this invention is to provide a storage bin structure for an automatic vending machine in which it is easy to move the article to be sold.

According to this invention, a storage bin structure is used for superposed articles in an automatic vending machine and includes a front wall unit which can be moved to vary the volume of the storage space for the articles to be sold. A conveyer unit includes two motor-activated circular front wheels and two elliptical rear wheels. Two endless conveyer belts run around the front wheels and the rear wheels. When the belts are idle, the upper ends of the rear wheels are below those of the front wheels so as to prevent the lowermost one of the superposed articles from forward movement. When the belts circulate in response to entry of coin or coins, the rear wheels rotate so that the upper ends of the rear wheels are higher than those of the front wheels, thereby moving the articles forward.

Other features and advantages of this invention will become apparent in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments of this invention, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a conventional storage bin structure for an automatic vending machine;

FIG. 2 is an assembled perspective view of the conventional storage bin structure;

FIG. 3 is a schematic view illustrating the use of the conventional storage bin structure;

FIG. 4 is a partially exploded view of a storage bin structure for an automatic vending machine according to a first embodiment of this invention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic side view illustrating the storage bin structure according to the first embodiment of this invention;

FIG. 6 is a schematic view illustrating the operation of the conveyer unit of the storage bin structure according to the first embodiment of this invention;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing the storage bin structure according to a second embodiment of this invention;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing the storage bin structure according to a third embodiment of this invention; and

FIG. 9 is a partially exploded view showing the storage bin structure according to a fourth embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 4 shows two storage bin structures of this invention, each of which consists of a wall assembly 3 and a conveyer unit 4. The wall assembly 3 has two side wall units each of which includes an upper positioning rail 31, a lower positioning rail 32, a front blocking plate 33, a rear blocking plate 34, a horizontal connecting plate 35 and a vertical auxiliary plate 36. The two side wall units define a storage space therebetween.

A support plate (B) has two horizontal rows of upper holes (B1) so as to screw the upper positioning rails 31 thereto. Two horizontal rows of intermediate holes (B2) are formed through the support plate (B) under the upper holes (B1) so that the lower positioning rails 32 are screwed thereto. Each of the upper positioning rails 31 and the lower positioning rails 32 has lengthwise slide slots 311, 321. Side lock bolts (B3) extend through the upper and lower end portions of the front blocking plate 33 and the rear blocking plate 34 and through the slide slots 311, 321 of the upper and lower positioning rails 31, 32 to engage with side nuts, so as to lock the blocking plates 33, 34 on the upper and lower positioning rails 31, 32. The front blocking plate 33 has a side wall portion rectangular to the support plate (B) and a front wall portion 331 parallel to the support plate (B). The front wall portion 331 is integrally formed with the front end of the side wall portion of the front blocking plate 33 and constitutes a front wall unit. The support plate (B) acts as a rear wall unit for the storage space. The horizontal connecting plate 35 is mounted securely on the front wall portion of the front blocking plate 33 and has a lengthwise slide slot 351. The vertical auxiliary plate 36 has lengthwise slide slots 361. As illustrated, a front lock bolt is passed through the slide slot 351 of the connecting plate 35 and one of the slide slots 361 of the auxiliary plate 36 to engage with a front nut, so as to lock the auxiliary plate 36 on the connecting plate 35. Accordingly, the auxiliary plate 36 can be moved horizontally and vertically relative to the front blocking plate 33. It can be appreciated that it is easy to adjust the position of the front blocking plate 33 so as to vary the length of the storage space, due to the fact that the front blocking plate 33 is located at the foremost portion of the storage bin structure.

The support plate (B) further has a horizontal row of lower holes (B4) so as to screw the conveyer unit 4 thereto. The conveyer unit 4 includes a conveyer body 41 having a rear end wall with two holes 411 formed therethrough. Two lock bolts 412 are passed through the holes 411 of the conveyer body 41. A motor 42 and a gearing 43 are used to drive a rotating shaft 44 in a known manner. Two circular front wheels 45 are sleeved rigidly on the two ends of the rotating shaft 44. Two endless belts 46 transfer the rotation of the front wheels 45 to two elliptical rear wheels 47. The diameter of the front wheels 45 is greater than the length of the minor axis of the rear wheels 47, and less than the length of the major axis of the rear wheels 47. Accordingly, referring to FIG. 5, when the belt conveyer unit 4 is idle, the upper ends of the rear wheels 47 are below those of the front wheels 45, so as to prevent the articles (C) from unwanted forward movement. Referring to FIG. 6, when the belts 46 are activated to circulate so as to rotate the rear wheels 47, because the upper ends of the rear wheels 47 are higher than those of the front wheels 45, it is easy to move the lowermost one of the articles (C) forward.

FIG. 7 shows a second embodiment of this invention. As illustrated, to increase the length of the storage space, the storage bin structure has modified side walls each of which includes increased-length upper and lower positioning rails 51, a front blocking plate 52, an intermediate blocking plate 53 and a rear blocking plate 54.

FIG. 8 shows a third embodiment of this invention, to enable the blocking plate to easily and stably slide on the positioning rails, the two end 621 portions of each of the blocking plates 62 are bent an angle of 90 degrees. Lock bolts 63 are passed through the end portions 621 of the blocking plates 62 and the slide slots 611 of the upper positioning rails 61 to engage with nuts (not shown).

FIG. 9 shows a fourth embodiment of this invention. Unlike the first three embodiments, this embodiment includes three guide rails 71 of a L-shaped cross-section secured to a support plate 7 so as to define horizontal slide slots 711 between the support plate 7 and the upper portions of the guide rails 71. Positioning rails 81 and conveyer units 91 have downwardly extending rear end portions 811, 911 which are inserted into the horizontal slide slots 711 and which are clamped between the support plate 7 and the PG,10 guide rails 71. Each of the blocking plates 82 is generally C-shaped and has a straight intermediate portion and two U-shaped end portions 821. With the U-shaped end portions 821, the blocking plates 82 can be hung on the upper positioning rails 81, while the lower positioning rails 81 can be hung on the blocking plates 82. In this way, it is easy to adjust the positions of the positioning rails 81, the blocking plates 82 and the conveyer unit 91.

With this invention thus explained, it is apparent that numerous modifications and variations can be made without departing from the scope and spirit of this invention. It is therefore intended that this invention be limited only as indicated in the appended claims.